Greater Than or Equal To

Last Sunday, millions of us watched the Super Bowl which included many memorable moments. There has been a lot of chatter about the game, the halftime show and the commercials. The “He Gets Us” campaign has received mixed reviews. On the one hand, I appreciate the message of loving our neighbors, the ones we don’t usually notice, value or welcome. The foot washing ad appears to be encouraging love and service, but also seems to perpetuate the “us vs. them” division at the same time. The ones with the dirty feet needing to be washed include immigrants, LGBTQ+, black, Native American, activists/protesters, alcoholics, homeless transients, and a young woman choosing an abortion. And most of the people washing their feet appear to be conservative white folk. There is also an “ad” being shared on Facebook that some think would have been more appropriate stating that Jesus saves us. The “ad” shows pictures with labels including “former witch”, “former drag queen and prostitute”, “former transgender”, “former new age guru”, “former lesbian activist”, “former drug addict”, etc. It ends with “such were some of you.”

Religion is often used as a weapon of exclusion rather than making room for everyone at the table. We have developed various groups with standards or conditions that must be met to join or remain in good standing. We promise that everyone is welcome and advertise unconditional love, but then expect you to change yourself completely or hide your true self. Sometimes people within the group can’t agree on what the standards are and reject each other or form new groups so they can use their own standards. Jesus, on the other hand, loves everyone unconditionally and tells us that nothing can separate us from his love. He sees himself in us and accepts us because he created us.

We celebrated Valentines Day and Ash Wednesday this week. Ash Wednesday begins Lent which is a 40-day period of penitence commemorative of the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert. Many people abstain from eating meat (at least on Fridays) or take a break from social media. These practices can be beneficial. What if we seek a deeper connection with God by showing love, kindness and respect to all of the people he created, not just for 40 days but for the rest of our days?

I just saw an incredibly impactful film called Origin about Isabel Wilkerson who is a Pulitzer Prize winning author. She wrote Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents. I highly recommend that you see the movie and read the book. Isabel makes a connection between the numerous caste systems in our world that have separated humans into different groups and devalued the lives of countless humans throughout history. We have all really been impacted by these caste systems in some way. I will list several examples from history as well as current events, and I’m sure you can think of other examples.

The Nazis murdered six million Jews and millions more including people with disabilities from 1941 to 1945.

Between 1501 and 1866, it is estimated that over 12.5 million people were forced onto ships in Africa, and transported to the Americas as slaves. Furthermore, it is estimated that only 10.7 million of these slaves disembarked on the other side of the Atlantic, meaning that roughly 1.8 million did not survive the journey. (Published by Aaron O'Neill, Feb 2, 2024)

America was established on land stolen from the native people, millions of whom were murdered. Their children were also stolen away and abused in religious boarding schools.

Today Palestinians and Ukrainians are being annihilated. Transgender people are being targeted and devalued. Immigrants to America are being treated inhumanely and used as political pawns. There are 27 million people currently enslaved worldwide (according to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center). We are being turned against each other by politicians and media outlets who breed fear of our neighbors based on lies and propaganda.

What can we do to change this caste system and value each other as equals? I think job number one is to look into each other’s eyes and try to learn something about each other. It’s hard to hate and devalue people we know personally. We can find common experiences or shared interests or beliefs. We can share our stories and build empathy for one another. My heart connects to your heart. We get each other just like Jesus gets, loves and accepts you and me.

Please listen to this beautiful song by Ray Boltz Who Would Jesus Love?